Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-02-19
QUEER HAPPENINGS IN WAR.
A Lottery In which the Prizes Are Shot.
shell, Wounds and Death.

Shell, Wounds and Death.
Men might write for 100 years of the
curious phases of war, and still leave
the subject fresh. War is lottery, and
the prizes are shot, shell, wounds and
death. Tens Of thousands of men served
four years in the late war and returned
home. In 1000 cases recruits were
killed within twenty-four hours after
reaching the front. Wars missiles are
no respecters Of persons, and the soldier
who fights an all days battle without
receiving a wound may be killed in his
tent at night by the accidental discharge
of musket.
AT the battle of Franklin the first
shell sent from the first field-piece to
open fire killed twenty-six Confederates.
The next five shells from the same gun
either failed to explode or cleared the
advancing lines. In this same fight, the
horse of a Confederate colonel was cut
square in two by shot, and the rider
escaped unhurt Ten minutes after a
Union officer behind the breastworks
stumbled and fell forward on the
ground, breaking his neck.
In one Of the assaults on Fort Wagner
in Charleston harbor, the iron-clad fleet
assisted by land batteries numbering
twenty-seven heavy cannon, bombarded
the fort for two hours before killing g
single soldier. From seventy to eight,
heavy cannon were hurting three tons o.
iron into the fort each minute, and We
no one was hurt until over 800 tons o
solid death" had been wasted. AS al
offset to this, witness the work of singh
solid shot thrown from Federal gun
boat on the lower Mississippi. A Con
federate flying battery was just takinl
position, and one piece had alread,
opened fire. The Federal shot was aimee
at this piece. The big mass of irol
struck the six-pounder square on tn
muzzle and upset gun and carriage. 1
piece of the muzzle, weighing abou
twenty pounds, was broken, and thi
flew to the left and killed two men
Three men were hurt by smaller frag
ments or flying splinters. The big she
next struck and exploded caisson, kill
ing three men and wounding two others
From the caisson it turned to the right
killed horse, smashed wheel of
field-piece, and crushed the leg of
sergeant to bloody mass. That on
shot SO disorganized the battery that
limbered up and wheeled away to cover
While heavy ordnance is necessary i
reducing forts and earthworks, it
doubtful if there was any profit in tn
work Of the big guns carried by the iron
clads on the rivers. When McClella
fell back he had the cover of gun-boa
and some writers have claimed that thei
fire saved his army from capture. s
far as the Confederacy records show
the loss by the hundreds of enormou
shells thrown over the heads of on
troops into the woods by these great car
non amounted to no more than 100 mef
They were new thing then, and tn
effect of the awful crash and terrific e1
plosion on the men was demoralizing O
the troops in line.
A Union gunboat on the White rive
threw three shells into Confederat
camp, killed nearly fifty men, and route
force of 800. Within week afte
that event the Confederate Gen. Shelb
planted four pieces of flying artillery o
the levee, within 400 feet of the sam
gunboat at anchor, and without til
least cover for men or guns kept up tn
fight for over an hour, or until the gur
boat backed out of it and steame
away.
The chances in lottery can be figure
down fine, and certain percentage {
escapes is allowed in asteamboat expl'
sion; but he who goes to war has notl
ing to console him. He may dodge
| 20O-pound shell and be killed by tw
buckshot. He may receive dozen bu
J let's and live on, or the first may be fl
J tai. He may ride in the widest charg
unhurt, and he may be killed by stra
bullet around his camp re.-Army Blu
letin,